Quirky Secrets of WDW

[Pluto23]

That's presuming you have a blackberry, droid, or iPhone; believe it or not, not all of us are that into all-in-one phone technology - some of us still have boring cell phones that are just phones.

Count me on the boring phone list. $80-100 a month for a date plan service is just a bit much. Leaves me more to spend on souvenirs at Disney.

[MmeLeota]

If you see the character Ariel in a parade. She waves her hand in a mimic of rolling waves, whereas other princesses wave differently.

No detail is too small for Disney.

I never knew that! I'll have to pay closer attention nex time!

That is interesting. I really don't recall ever noticing that! I will have to pay a lot more attention next time we go.

I've never noticed that either! Someone once told me that "characters" actually have to take classes about how to sign the autographs, wave, gesture...etc. That way they're all "uniform", or at least similar.

[Len90]

I never knew that! I'll have to pay closer attention nex time!

That is interesting. I really don't recall ever noticing that! I will have to pay a lot more attention next time we go.

I've never noticed that either! Someone once told me that "characters" actually have to take classes about how to sign the autographs, wave, gesture...etc. That way they're all "uniform", or at least similar.

That is true. It would be a tragedy for Disney if Mickey Mouse's autograph changed daily. They need to ensure that the autographs all look the same no matter how many different versions a person gets.

[MmeLeota]

That is interesting. I really don't recall ever noticing that! I will have to pay a lot more attention next time we go.

I've never noticed that either! Someone once told me that "characters" actually have to take classes about how to sign the autographs, wave, gesture...etc. That way they're all "uniform", or at least similar.

That is true. It would be a tragedy for Disney if Mickey Mouse's autograph changed daily. They need to ensure that the autographs all look the same no matter how many different versions a person gets.

It makes perfect sense. But even with the training, there are some differences with the mannerisms/autographs. I think it's fun to compare. Another part I heard was that in addition to learning how to sign a character's autograph, certain characters have to learn to sign without looking. Not an easy feat...but I always keep an eye out for characters the "cheat"...

[Amy]

That's presuming you have a blackberry, droid, or iPhone; believe it or not, not all of us are that into all-in-one phone technology - some of us still have boring cell phones that are just phones.

Gasp! A phone that is just a...phone?! The horror! For what is is worth, I have tried listening on my iphone in the car but it seems like it spends almost as much time buffering as playing, I think that is more due to us living out in the sticks rather than the phone itself ~ plus it eats up the battery pretty quickly.

I will have to be more observant on the bus the next time we visit. From what I remember it is always so noisy with people chattering in the evening you can't hear anything ~ and in the morning, everyone is so tired that it seems really quiet on the bus.

I'll also have to watch for Ariel's rolling waves wave - that is pretty neat!

[Len90]

That's presuming you have a blackberry, droid, or iPhone; believe it or not, not all of us are that into all-in-one phone technology - some of us still have boring cell phones that are just phones.

Gasp! A phone that is just a...phone?! The horror! For what is is worth, I have tried listening on my iphone in the car but it seems like it spends almost as much time buffering as playing, I think that is more due to us living out in the sticks rather than the phone itself ~ plus it eats up the battery pretty quickly.

I will have to be more observant on the bus the next time we visit. From what I remember it is always so noisy with people chattering in the evening you can't hear anything ~ and in the morning, everyone is so tired that it seems really quiet on the bus.

I'll also have to watch for Ariel's rolling waves wave - that is pretty neat!

As for the phone, always try streaming the 64K or lower streams. Secondly, you do need to keep the iPhone plugged into your car charger in order to have some battery life left to use it as a phone.

As for the bus music, it is really a defining part of the Disney experience for those who are super observant to everything around them.

[northernmousefan2007]

I have had some really good times on the buses. We have had really funny drivers and fun passengers to ride with over the numerous rides. I only dislike a very small percentage of the bus rides. As for streaming in the car, with my moto droid I can stream for 6 or 7 hours and still have my phone able to be a phone for a long time.

[Len90]

I have had some really good times on the buses. We have had really funny drivers and fun passengers to ride with over the numerous rides. I only dislike a very small percentage of the bus rides. As for streaming in the car, with my moto droid I can stream for 6 or 7 hours and still have my phone able to be a phone for a long time.

I have to agree about the really good times with the drivers on the buses. I noticed on our past trip that the bus drivers were less friendly than they had used to be. I am hopeful it was just because they were mourning the lost of a fellow WDW Transport CM as our trip was during the monorail incident.

As for the battery life, if I can get 3 and a half hours of total usage in a day out of my iPhone 3G, it is a great day. I am really looking forward to the new iPhone. I really hope it allows me to increase my music streaming abilities.

Don't know if I mentioned this one in the past, but Disney keeps an extra spire for the castle in a lot that is off of World Drive that is halfway between Contemporary and the Monorail Barn.

[Amy]

...Don't know if I mentioned this one in the past, but Disney keeps an extra spire for the castle in a lot that is off of World Drive that is halfway between Contemporary and the Monorail Barn.

That is a pretty interesting trivia tidbit. Do you know if they keep a spare in case of damage by lightning or some other reason?

[Len90]

...Don't know if I mentioned this one in the past, but Disney keeps an extra spire for the castle in a lot that is off of World Drive that is halfway between Contemporary and the Monorail Barn.

That is a pretty interesting trivia tidbit. Do you know if they keep a spare in case of damage by lightning or some other reason?

I honestly have no idea. The only reason I saw it was because Disney was running third party shuttle buses during the whole monorail incident last year. It was the only time that I can recall where Disney used private buses to shuttle their guests around. The bus was running the resort monorail loop by stopping at the resorts, TTC, and then would go around the back of the MK. I ended up giving the bus a tour by pointing out the various buildings you pass back there

In reality, it makes sense for Disney to keep a spare hanging around as a means to a quick fix. However, I don't know what type of damage Disney ever anticipates.

[Amy]

I honestly have no idea. The only reason I saw it was because Disney was running third party shuttle buses during the whole monorail incident last year. It was the only time that I can recall where Disney used private buses to shuttle their guests around. The bus was running the resort monorail loop by stopping at the resorts, TTC, and then would go around the back of the MK. I ended up giving the bus a tour by pointing out the various buildings you pass back there

In reality, it makes sense for Disney to keep a spare hanging around as a means to a quick fix. However, I don't know what type of damage Disney ever anticipates.

Cool ~ Generalissimo Len was Touristissimo Len! I'm surprised the bus driver didn't stop you from getting off the bus when you arrived at MK. "Hey! Buddy! Your shift just started! You can't get off yet!"

[Len90]

I honestly have no idea. The only reason I saw it was because Disney was running third party shuttle buses during the whole monorail incident last year. It was the only time that I can recall where Disney used private buses to shuttle their guests around. The bus was running the resort monorail loop by stopping at the resorts, TTC, and then would go around the back of the MK. I ended up giving the bus a tour by pointing out the various buildings you pass back there

In reality, it makes sense for Disney to keep a spare hanging around as a means to a quick fix. However, I don't know what type of damage Disney ever anticipates.

Cool ~ Generalissimo Len was Touristissimo Len! I'm surprised the bus driver didn't stop you from getting off the bus when you arrived at MK. "Hey! Buddy! Your shift just started! You can't get off yet!"

LOL I actually got thank you's from some of the other "Guests" on the bus. They were happy to learn a bit about the backstage areas.

[DoctorK]

These stories are great - I've heard a bunch, but the additions from CMs are cool!

[Len90]

To follow up the Ariel wave, she did not wave like that during the Celebrate a Dream Come true parade. During MSEP she walks and has a dance routine that prevents her from waving.

[Son of Dreamfinder]

Lets see what do I know.....
There is a hidden Nautilus on the inside of the tree from poohs playground.
My favorite little thing from tot is the poem on the desk that you see when you go to the back elevators.
As for character signatures , (spoilers) there really isnt a class, its a week of basic training with a little bit of studying on the signatures. If you forget what it would look like there is a sheet in the breakroom to remind you.
And going back to one of the earlier posts about the muppet 3d on the fish in a bird cage, the cajun fish is a good joke but there really was a fish in a bird cage from one of the episodes I had on vhs as a kid.
At safaris, I dont know if anyone remembers this, but before they were made to look like logs the water troughs for the lions were made to look like zebras.
Another thing they changed at Harambe was at the exploration trail. If you look in the concrete near the entrance there are hoof and paw prints that lead to a tree if you follow them. Used to be that you could look up and see the remains of dinner for a cheetah in the tree.
OH and if you noticed (speaking of waves) Cinderellas wave is made to look like she is doing the Mr. Miagi "wax on wax off" bit.